parting of the Red Sea – Seek Grow Love

In our devotion yesterday Jeff Fletcher was describing the Dark Night of the Soul when it seems like God is distant. Certainly being enslaved for 400 years in a foreign land could have that effect. I wonder if even through all those years of painful toil if many or some Hebrew parents were still faithfully telling their children of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who had promised Abraham that his descendants would come out of that land of slavery after 400 years with great possessions and God’s judgment upon their former masters (Genesis 15:13). Was anyone still counting the years in anticipation? Were they talking to God about how He would show up? Were they watching to see how God might be acting on their behalf day after day while in slavery? I don’t know. But I hope so. In our reading today, there can be no doubt, God is at work and He shows up in some major ways – and also in some small surprising ways, too – but always faithful.

I will assume that you already have some knowledge of these events from Exodus 13-15. So, you already know of the amazing way God chose to lead the Israelites on their journey out of Egypt – with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night – spectacular! And you already know of God’s strong east wind that split the Red Sea with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left as His cherished people crossed on dry land – astounding!

So, today I will focus on two of the smaller things – wheels and logs.

I don’t know about you – but I take great delight (maybe a little too much) in the picture of God at work in Exodus 14:25. Here the great God of the universe who has been directing the winds to create great mountains of water is watching from the pillar of fire/cloud which He specifically moved from in front of the Israelites where it had been guiding to the rear where it was protecting. So this great all-powerful God of the universe reaches down from on high to clog the chariot wheels of the advancing Egyptians who want to take back their slaves. Is there an adversary chasing you who wants to make you or someone you know a slave again? God is good at protecting His children, sometimes in ways I wouldn’t even think of. In big and small ways. God so loved the world. But we know everyone is not going to listen and play on His side. Some will play the role of adversary, but do not fear, our God knows how to clog their chariot wheels. Oh, and, make sure you are playing on the right team because the God who clogged their wheels also sent the mountainous walls of water crashing down on the Egpytians and none survived. His judgment is right and sure and coming at God’s perfect time not ours. And the whole world will know He is the Lord.

The second little example of God at work even in small ways in His big plans comes at the end of our reading today. The Egyptians are no longer a problem. Now, thirst is. They have traveled three days and have not found water. And when they finally reach water at Marah, they find the water is bitter, not just unpleasant to drink but likely unhealthy and perhaps deadly as well. The people grumble, Moses cries out to the Lord, and the Lord answers by showing Moses a log.

Thanks, God. This will help – if we want a campfire or need to start building a log cabin. But we really need water now. The Bible doesn’t record that Moses questioned God, but I might have. I love the partnership between Moses and God. God could’ve fixed the problem any way He wanted to. And if He wanted to sweeten the water with a log He could have easily picked up the right log and thrown it in himself – after all we just saw Him displace how many gallons of water and clog chariot wheels without any help from human hands. But more to His “normal” working – He shows Moses which log – and Moses simply steps up, pitches it in the water and God makes the waters sweet and healthy and life-giving.

Today, whether God is displacing the sea for you to walk through on dry land or clogging some chariot wheels to protect you, or showing you which log He wants you to pick up to sweeten your bitter surroundings – follow Him. He is at work, in big and small ways, guiding and protecting and sustaining.

-Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

What inspiring words did Moses have for the people at the edge of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:13 & 14? Which phrase do you need to hear today? What words does the Lord God have for Moses in Exodus 14:15? Where do you think God is calling you to go forward?
Exodus 15 includes the first recorded hymn of the Hebrew people. If you were to create a hymn or worship song praising God for who He is and what He has done for you what would you include?
Where do you see God at work – in big and small ways? Like Moses picking up the log God showed him – what might God be showing you to do to change bitter to sweet and help sustain the weary, thirsty children of God?

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The Long Way Around

Old Testament: Exodus 13 & 14

Poetry: Psalm 24

New Testament: Matthew 21:33-46

I love a good underdog story. And there aren’t many better than the slaves overcoming Pharaoh.

There are SO MANY phrases that stick out to me as I am reading Exodus 13 & 14 that make this story stand out as a grand and glorious experience of what God can do and why it is worthy of being remembered.

The Israelites have JUST left behind their lives as slaves. And God says – let’s remember this event, every year, in fact, for 7 days every year let’s celebrate my power and goodness and these events unfolding now. And why? So you and your future generations can be reminded “that the law of the Lord is to be on your lips; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of…” (Exodus 13:9)? What reminders and signs and symbols do you have on your calendar and in your home and in your life that remind you and the future generations to speak of God’s power and rescue and goodness?

Do you ever get frustrated when the GPS sends you the long way around when you know the area just well enough to know there is a shorter way which is generally quicker? Or, maybe you can relate to when God doesn’t send the quick and easy answer you had in mind, but sends you on a completely different path in life, perhaps even through the desert. God did the same for the Israelites – for a very good reason. We don’t always get to see, hear or understand WHY the GPS sent us this way instead of that. Perhaps there was an accident ahead or a bridge out and so a better route was selected. Similarly, we don’t always get to see, hear and understand God’s reasoning on why He chooses which path to send us on. But in this particular case Moses writes that God knew the quickest route to the promised land would be through the Philistine country. But, he also knew they weren’t ready for war and if they faced war now they might get scared and return to Egypt. ”So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.” (Exodus 13:18). Can we trust that God knows best, even better than our GPS? He knows which road is best for you, too.

Even when it seems to end at the Sea.

Because, at the edge of the water God does some pretty amazing things! Well, actually, He doesn’t wait til we get to the edge. He was sending a pillar of cloud to guide them during the day and a pillar of fire to guide by night – that sounds like a pretty cool night light to follow. God was showing His protection and guidance, but can you imagine the fear they must have felt when they looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them, as they were at the edge of the Sea. Terrifying fear that leads to anger and outrage directed toward Moses and the Lord. But Moses says, “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord that he will provide for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you can be still.” (Exodus 14:13,14 NET). What fearful situations have we found ourselves in where our fear turns to anger toward God and men? Could it be God is telling us to stand firm to see how He will deliver us, save us, and fight for us?

I love how it says the angel of God and the pillar of cloud which had been leading the way now moved to the rear, positioning themselves between the scared Israelites and the powerful Egyptians and all night the cloud brought darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Israelites.

Now the stage is set and God acts – again – in a mighty way! He sends a strong east wind all night long. We’ve all seen some amazing and terrifying things wind has done. But this beats them all. A wind strong and long enough to drive the sea back and turn it into dry land, with a wall of water on the right and a wall of water on the left. Typically people don’t survive well in hurricane force winds that create walls of water. But on this miraculous night, the people, young and old as well as all their flocks and herds all walk across the sea on that dry land! Can you imagine the amazement and awe and dream-like experience that must have been! I wonder if it was difficult to walk upright? I wonder how wide the dry path was for the 600,000 men (and women and children)? I wonder if there were children on the edge of the dry path trying to run their fingers through the wall of water while their mothers were urging them ahead. I wonder what the Egyptians thought as they followed in their chariots, still in the dark.

Exodus 14:24 says, “During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.” Some versions say He made the wheels come off the chariots, others translate it that He jammed their wheels so driving the chariots was difficult. Either way, it seems to me a bit humorous – as long as I am not an Egyptian. We love to remember the God who saves His people – as long as we are one of His people. It would be wise for us to also remember He can and has and will frustrate and confuse the way of His enemies, and make sure we are not in that category.

Don’t find yourself still in the dark – walking on the wrong side of His cloud of protection and guidance. God is providing light on the other side. Seek Him and what pleases Him. And Stand Firm and watch His salvation.

-Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

In what ways have you seen God provide favor, protection, guidance and sometimes even miraculous intervention to save His people?
Is there a time God may have led you on the longer, indirect route to save you from an unknown pain on a shorter more direct route?
How will you seek to remember and share with future generations what God has done – both during the time of the Israelites and in your life as well?

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Keeping the Awe

Exodus 14

February 12

It always amazes me that the Israelites respond this way after seeing the great works and power of God:

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

If we aren’t careful though, I think we all can easily lose the awe and reverence for God that He so richly deserves. We all have been witness to the great and mighty things God has done, but we can quickly forget all of it if we don’t take the proper precautions. The Bible is an amazing tool to continually remind us of just how worthy God is of our praise, reverence and adoration and just how fallible our hearts are. As noted in, Hebrews 4:12:

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

His word keeps our hearts in check. If we are missing that frequent interaction with it, our hearts can wander astray. We read in Matthew 13:15: “For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”

Romans 1:21 also speaks to the dark turn that our hearts can take, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.”

A number of years ago, I was introduced to an acronym that helps us with prioritizing our prayer and approaching God in a manner that is worthy of Him: A.C.T.S. I don’t quite remember the source of this acronym, but it has always stuck with me. The “A” is for adoration and reminds us first and foremost to adore God. “C” is for confession and reminds us to confess our sins before God and repent. “T” is for Thanksgiving and reminds us to give thanks to God. The “S” is for Supplication and reminds us to ask God about whatever is on our hearts (praying for a need for others or ourselves). Oftentimes our prayers can get very out of balance and are simply reduced to an act of supplication. The God of the universe deserves so much more from us. We are reminded from this week’s readings that God hears our cries and cares about us; however, that should not be the sole focus of our prayers.

-Kristy Cisneros

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Do you consistently give God the praise, glory, adoration and thanksgiving that He so richly deserves? If not, what are some steps you could take today to change that?
How is your prayer life? Do you find that you sometimes bypass the important part of prayer where you get a chance to adore God and just go straight to the asking? Why not create a challenge for a week to see if you can start out each day with a praise to God when you wake up?

Next up – Exodus 20

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Growing in Trust

Exodus 13-15

Sometimes, when a person makes a major purchase, like buying a new car or a new house they come down with a phenomenon known as “buyer’s remorse.” Buyers remorse happens when you second guess that decision. Yes, you like that new car and all. You could think about how wonderful it would be when you drive it down the highway. But when that first car payment comes due and you see how much of your paycheck goes out every month… and will continue to go out for the next 4 or 5 or 6 years, you can have buyer’s remorse. It can be even worse when you realize that that dream house you’ve always wanted requires 1/4 of your paycheck every month and will for the next 30 years. Yikes! Buyers remorse has to do with regretting that important decision.

After the 10 plagues, the last of which included the death of his firstborn son, Pharaoh was so devastated that he let the Israelite slaves leave. He wanted to be rid of them. Their God had displayed His power and Pharaoh’s hubris was finally knocked down. But like a boxer in a ring who has been knocked senseless by a much stronger opponent, Pharaoh still manages to get back up on his feet and try again. He realizes that he’s suddenly lost a significant part of his workforce. 600,000-able bodied men were gone. Who was going to build Pharaoh’s cities and pyramids and harvest their crops? Pharaoh has buyer’s remorse. He wants to get those slaves back. So he assembles his army, the most powerful army in the world, and sends out the chariots and soldiers to chase down the Israelites traveling by foot.

Meanwhile, God is making his visible presence known to Israel. He’s leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. This was important. God’s people were no doubt very disoriented. They were leaving a place that was known and familiar to them. For over 400 years they had been living in Egypt. They were now going to a land which they had never been. They may have heard stories from their parents and grandparents about this land, but chances are that after 400 years, it had all but been forgotten in Israel’s memory. They had no idea where they were going. So they needed some visible assurance that God really was with them. So he made Himself visible. I’m sure that this brought some comfort to the traveling Israelites… until they heard the sound of Pharaoh’s army, with it’s galloping hoofbeats bearing down upon them. As they looked forward to their escape route, there was nothing but the vast sea before them, and behind, the most powerful army in the world.

In despair they cried out to Moses- “why did you bring us out here to die, weren’t there enough graves in Egypt to hold our bodies?” The sarcasm would be funny if the stakes weren’t so high. These people truly were terrified. Yes, they could see that God was leading them- his tangible, visible presence was right there… and yes, God had performed 10 great signs in Egypt. But they were still scared.

It is normal to get scared when scary things are about to happen to you. It would take the nation of Israel a long time before they would begin to really trust God in all things.

I’m a baseball fan. Over the last 8-9 years I’ve watched the Washington Nationals play a lot of baseball. They have been a very good team for years, but unfortunately, too many times that great team fell apart during the playoffs. Every time they were in a do or die situation in the playoffs, they lost that deciding game and were eliminated from the playoffs. This happened over and over again. So when the 2019 playoffs started, and the Nationals played the Milwaukee Brewers in the one game wild-card play off and they were behind by 3 runs, I started thinking “Oh no, not again! We’re gonna lose once again.” But they didn’t! They came back and beat the Brewers. Wow! It was different. After all these years they won a playoff series. But then they played the mighty Dodgers. Once again they go behind 2 games to 1 and were facing an elimination game. They were behind and it was getting late in the game, and then miraculously, they tied it up and went into extra innings, and then Howie Kendrick hit a 10th inning grand slam and the Nationals won another series. They moved on to the next round, where they swept the St. Louis Cardinals in 4 games. By this time I was becoming a believer. So much that when they played the Houston Astros in the World Series and got down three games to two and were facing elimination, I suddenly wasn’t worried any more. I had become a believer. I just knew that they would come back and win… and they did.

So Israel can be excused for fearing Pharaoh’s army and believing that the worst was was about to happen. But once again, God showed up in a powerful way, the seas were parted and Israel went through on dry land, and Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the sea as they gave chase.

How many times does God need to show up before we begin to trust? For me, it only took a few come from behind wins for be to begin believing in the Nationals and placing my confidence in their ability to come back and win. It would take quite a few more wins before Israel would finally come to fully trust God. What will it take for you to fully trust God? Israel’s story is, in many ways our story too. We can read these stories and have our faith strengthened to help us keep trusting God even in the middle of hard times. God is with us and God has the power to display His ultimate victory over the forces of evil.

Jeff Fletcher

Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus+13-15&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s Bible reading will be Exodus 16-18 on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Tag: parting of the Red Sea

God at Work